Former LAPD officer pleads guilty to sexually assaulting 13-year-old in Torrance
A former Los Angeles police officer pleaded guilty Friday to sexually abusing the teenage daughter of a fellow LAPD officer, authorities said.
Kenneth Collard, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of performing a lewd act upon a child and is expected to be sentenced to five years in prison this month, according to statement issued by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
In April 2018, Collard was staying at the home of an LAPD officer in Torrance when he entered the girl’s bedroom and assaulted her in the middle of the night, authorities said last year.
Torrance police arrested Collard several weeks later after an investigation that included the analysis of forensic evidence.
He was originally charged with three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child and one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object and faced up to 32 years in prison.
Collard’s defense attorney, Robert Ernenwein, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday. Collard, who had been with the department for 20 years and was last assigned to the West L.A. division, resigned sometime last year after criminal charges were filed.
In a statement, LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said Collard had “tarnished the badge.â€
“Today’s plea closes a disturbing chapter for this department. Ken Collard resigned from the LAPD shortly after he was charged for these deplorable crimes,†the statement read. “When any individual harms a child it is tragic, but when an officer betrays the trust of the residents he or she has sworn to protect it is unforgivable.â€
The plea deal marked the latest in a string of sexual abuse allegations made against LAPD officers in recent years. In August of last year former officer Robert Cain pleaded guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old member of the LAPD’s Cadet program, a scandal that led to a wider review of misconduct involving the department’s signature youth program.
Last month, a detective also filed a civil lawsuit accusing LAPD Officer Daniel Reedy of physically abusing her and forcing her into a sexual encounter with blackmail.
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